Loom-shuttle.



T. BOUCHER.

LOOM SHUTTLE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23.

Inventor.

Thomas Boucher AITys.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS BOUCHER, OF MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR T0 DRAPER COMPANY, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTB, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

LOOK-SHUTTLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS BoUoHER,

a citizen of the United States, and resident of Manchester, county of Hillsboro, State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Loom-Shuttles, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in loom shuttles for automatic filling replenishing looms of the type disclosed in prior Patents No. 906,748, granted Dec. 15, 1908, and No. 1,092,959 granted April 14, 1914, whichpatents disclose means adapted to engage positioning faces upon the butts of the bobbins or other filling carriers and position the same properly as the bobbin is about to-be thrust into the shuttle jaws. The shuttles disclosed in these patents are"'particularly adapted to receive bobbins having longitudinal slots in their barrels adapted to receive the feeler when uncovered by the unwinding of the filling and thereby to initiate the action of the transfer mechanism while there is a sutficient amount of filling upon the bobbin to complete the last pick across the loom before the bobbin is discharged.

In the operation of the loom there is oc-' casionally a failure of the hopper and shuttle to come into exact registry at the time of transfer, this being sometimes due to the rebounding of the hopper as the same is advanced, and at other times by looseness occasioned by play between cooperating parts of the loom, so that when the bobbin is thrust from the hopper toward the shuttle it may strike upon the top of one of the guides for the base of the bobbin illustrated in the patents aforesaid in such amanner as to bend or break the same or to injure the bobbin, thus causing a smash in the loom.

In order to avoid the likelihood of such accidents the present invention contemplates the mounting of the guides for the base of the bobbin in such a manner as to permit the slight floating of the guides, aiiowing a wider range of action between the hopper and the shuttle jaws.

Another feature of the invention resides in providing a simplified construction which may be more readily assembled and more easily repaired than in the devices heretofore constructed.

Other objects of .the invention will more.

and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the drawings which illustrate a preferred form of the invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a shuttle and a bobbin in the position in which it is about to be transferred from the hopper to the shuttle jaws. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the shuttle showing the bobbinj in dotted lines as clasped within the shuttle jaws, Fig. 8 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view on lines 3-3 Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on lines M Fig. 1, looking toward the left and showing a portion of the hopper which delivers the bobbins to the shuttle. v

The body 1, ofthe shuttle is of the usual ception of the bobbin and a latenal opening '3 through which the feeler may enter .to

feel upon the filling carrierv within the shut jaws 8, 9 which desirably are made integral and the portion 10 uniting the same embedded in the shuttle body. The bobbin is guided into these jaws by a pair of flat reversely curved leaf springs 11-12 which are secured together or preferably made integral at one end and at the opposite end provided with upwardly projecting portions which are outwardly flared, the flared portion extending well above the plane of the top of the shuttle jaws. The upwardly projecting portions are provided with beveled or inclined surfaces which are adapted to direct the butt of the bobbin into such position that as it is forced into the shuttle jaws the rings of the, bobbin will be properly positioned in the grooves.

The guiding and positioning members are placed within the jaws of the shuttle so that the integrai or united ends thereof are seated the crotch of the jaws 8, 9, and are 75 construction having achamber 2 for the reretained loosely in position by the metallic member or' guide 13 for the base of the bobbin, the inclined portion 14 thereof vengaging the upper edges of the leaf spring,

\ and a horizontal port-ion 15 forming a Hat base for supporting said leaf springs. A

top plate'l? of the form illustrated'in 'Figs.

2 and 3 is provided to maintain the fioating' will engage the flat faces of the butt of the bobbin and will rotate the same into proper angular relation to the jaws. The flared ends of the guide form, smooth cam surfaces for the engagement of the base ofthe bobbin and the resilience botbgto lateral and twisting strains causes the bobbin to be posttioned between the jaws without injury to the bobbin. The fioatingpor free lateral movement, permits a wider range of actionfor the guides than in the constructions disclosed in the prior patents and serves to avoid smashes which may be'occasioned by the rebounding of. the hopper or by the relative displacement of the hopper and shuttle as illustrated indotted lines in the central portion of Fig. 4.

The fact that the spring guiding jaws arenot secured-to the shuttle jaws by rivets or other securing devices avoids the weakenin'g of the shuttle jaws so that the same are less likely to breakage, furthermore the construction is such that these spring guide;

.may be-inserted in certain of the usual types of shuttles widely in use to adapt the shuttles for the reception of a bobbin having a feeler slot.

- As described in my patents heretofore mentioned, the use of a bobbin having the feeler slot is much more economical than the use of a bobbin provided with a feeling; bunch, for the reason first that the slotted bobbin avoids the necessity for using the excessive amount of'filling necessary to produce the bunch for the feeler and, second by the use of slotted bobbins the necessityfur stripping the bobbin after its expulsion from the loom is' avoided. It is therefore of great importance that the guiding means for shuttles be of such a character that they 'can be introduced in the usual shuttles of.

automatic looms without material modification thereof when the looms are changed from the use of bobbins provided with feeling bunches to bobbins with feeler slots.

Itis to be understood that the mechanism disclosed herein is illustrative merely of the invention and that the same may be em- Qbod'ied in other forms within the spirit and scope of the-following; claims.

Having thus described my invention. what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In aloom shuttle for bobbins having butts provided with rings and with parallel guiding faces beyond. said rings, a pair of spring jaws adapted to engage said bobbin rings, a pair of integral floating, resilient guides having upwardly extending outwardly flared ends projecting above said aws adapted to engagethe flat faces of the bobbin butts, rotate and direct the same between said jaws as the bobbin is thrust into the shuttle and means for retaining said floating guide in the shuttle.

In a loom shuttle for bobbins having butts provided with rings and with parallel guiding faces, a pair of spring jaws to engage said bobbin rings, a floating guide comprising a pair of integral longitudinally extending resilient members having upwardly extending inclined and flared ends projecting above said jaws, adapted to engage the fiat faccsof the bobbin butts and l rotarily direct the same into the bobbin jaws, said floating guides being retained in position by a guiding member for the base of the bobbins having an inclined portion engaging the upper edges of said guides and a flat base portion forming a support for said guides.

In testi bony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification THQMAS BOUCHER. 

